The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) has notified the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it has established a “primary control zone” within British Columbia and is not certifying for export any live poultry, day old chicks or hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products or by-products that originated within the primary control zone. The zone was established after outbreaks of avian influenza were confirmed in British Columbia.
Unprocessed avian meat, products, and by-products originating from or transiting through the zone within the province of British Columbia are not permitted to enter the United States. Composted manure, hunter harvested meat, and meat in passenger baggage whether shipped to the United States or accompanying returning hunters are also not permitted.
Processed avian products and by-products originating from or transiting through the zone, and imported as cargo, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit and/or CFIA certification. Normally, fully-cooked chicken and liquid-pasteurized eggs, for human consumption, are exported from Canada to the United States only requiring the official Canadian export health certification. These products may continue to enter with such certificates. However, dried egg white albumin or products that contain dried egg white albumen, must be accompanied by a USDA import permit and require CFIA certification that the product was treated to mitigate for HPAI when entering from British Columbia.
Food products that contain small amounts of cooked poultry such as condiments, sauces and gravies will require an import permit when originating from or transiting through the zone for export to the United States.
Processed avian meat, products, and by-products (not having a thoroughly cooked appearance or not shelf-stable) in passenger baggage, originating from or transiting through the Primary Control Zone within province of British Columbia, must also be accompanied by a VS import permit and/or CFIA certification. The certificate must confirm that the products/by-products were treated and packaged according to APHIS requirements. APHIS requires that the meat and products be cooked by a commercial method to keep them shelf-stable without refrigeration. The meat and products must also be packaged in hermetically sealed containers.
